I purchased this magnet on our family vacation in Kauai, however, it took me a week later to reflect on how it can play a part of my life. I didn’t realize the fast-pace clip I was I was living since May of 2015. It was at that time I decided to earn my certificates for becoming a life coach. I was also building strong 3.5 tennis teams to hopefully advance far into the playoffs for USTA. I knew I had strong teams and I planned all my training in Miami around all the tennis playoff dates all the way out to Nationals in October of 2015.
The program would require three trips to Miami, Florida for 30 hours of training each trip. In between the trips I had to complete 20 sessions of one-on-one coaching, be coached for 20 sessions of one-on-one coaching, complete a book report, complete three eWorkbooks, attend teleclasses each Monday, complete an six week elective program, coach six coach-the-mentor sessions, and pass an oral exam. In addition to that certificate, I earned another certificate in assessing peoples’ energy and helping them shift. That certification program required me to debrief five classmates and be debriefed by five classmates. After my certifications, I needed to start my coaching business, creating a web page, hosting my first workshop, being present on social media fronts, etc.
Obviously life isn’t put on hold to accomplish the above, I was still working my job in IT, raising my children, running a household, playing tennis, working out, and cooking whole food, plant-based meals from scratch.
As you can see, I kept adding to my plate with the exhaustion slowly building, but I wasn’t aware of it. I would listen to podcasts and scan e-mail at the same time. I don’t watch much TV with the exception of tennis and Big Bang Theory, so I would read during commercials or while the tennis match was playing in the background. I would check e-mail between my weight-lifting sets. I would check e-mail and read coaching articles while waiting in the school parking lot or in the car if we were out as a family. My desire to keep up my workout routine was waning. Cooking from scratch seemed overwhelming. I just wanted easy, but didn’t know I could chose it on my own. I couldn’t even think of captaining any tennis teams for the Fall or Winter seasons.
On the 12+ hour travel day to and from Kauai, I packed four books to read and a downloaded a documentary on Netflix to watch. Once I boarded the plane, I was too exhausted to read or watch the Netflix movie, I slept, something I never do on a flight. Once we arrived, I was mentally and physically exhausted and it took me five days to recover from the fast-paced life I was living. Normally I would be out walking the beach or hiking some trails, working out, reading, anything active, but I just did NOTHING. I couldn’t do anything!
As we traveled to Hanalei, Kauai, there was a spray-painted phrase over a street sign that said, “Try Slow.” I read it, smiled, and didn’t think much about my life at home.
Once I arrived home and the unpacking and laundry were done, the pace started right where it left off. I knew something had to change. I thought about “Trying Slow.” What did that mean to me? Actually, it happened more by accident. My son had my phone while I was watching the Nadal/Federer match so I couldn’t check e-mail or read articles on my phone. My laptop and books were upstairs, and my husband wasn’t around to change channels during commercials so I couldn’t engage in another program. I just sat and was calm and at peace, doing absolutely nothing while waiting for the match to return. A feeling I haven’t experienced in a very long time. A feeling that I will make sure enters my day, every day!
What changes have I made? I only engage in one task at a time, giving it my full attention. If my son needs me, I either have him wait until I am done with my task or I pause my task to listen to him. I don’t do both at the same time anymore. I don’t listen to a conference call and read e-mail. I don’t check e-mail in between my weight-lifting sets. I do one thing at a time. It only has been a couple of days, but I cannot believe the peace and calm it has brought to my inner self. As I continue this practice, I hope to reignite my passion for cooking and other things that I want to learn and introduce into my life, at the right pace.
Try slow!
